State Historical Society of Iowa

Iowa History Dissertation Fellowship guidelines

Application Guidelines for State Historical Society of Iowa Dissertation Fellows for 2024/2025

The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) announces a dissertation fellows program for 2024/2025. SHSI will award up to four dissertation fellowships of up to $1,500 each to support the writing of a dissertation related to the history of Iowa or Iowa and the Midwest. Preference will be given to applicants pursuing previously neglected topics or new approaches to or interpretations of previously treated topics. SHSI invites applicants from a variety of backgrounds but all applicants must be in the writing phase of their dissertation process.

Proposals must be received electronically by June 10, 2024.

For further information, e-mail to andrew.klumpp@iowa.gov.

Fellowship Description

Fellows commit to meeting virtually each month (with the Editor of the Annals and the other fellows) to workshop their current work. At each meeting, one fellow will share a chapter (or portion of a chapter) of their work, and during the monthly meeting, the other fellows and the Editor will provide comments, critiques, and suggestions. At the conclusion of the fellowship (May 2025), fellows will meet in Des Moines, present their work in a workshop that will include fellows, SHSI staff, and an invited commenter.

Fellowships should support graduate student research and writing and offset any costs associated with travel and lodging when attending the in-person meeting.

Fellowships are available to advanced graduate students working on any aspect of Iowa history and from any time period, including pre-statehood up through the recent past. Dissertation projects need not be exclusively focused on Iowa or the Midwest, but should engage substantially with Iowa-related topics.

Application Guidelines

1. Type a title page containing the following information:

  • Your first name, middle initial (if used), and last name
  • Address where you wish to receive mail, phone number and e-mail address
  • Brief descriptive title of project

2. Attach a narrative description of the project. This proposal of 1,000 to 1,500 words (3 to 5 pages) should address these points:

  • The subject being investigated
  • Aspects of the subject that will be most closely examined, and questions you are especially interested in exploring
  • The thesis or argument you expect to propose
  • The sources you plan to examine, and their availability and applicability to questions you are exploring
  • What contribution this project will make to the existing historical literature

3. On a separate page, address the following issues:

  • How does this project engage with the history of Iowa, broadly conceived?
  • If this is part of a larger project, how much work have you completed up to this
    point?

4. Include a resumé or vita (no more than 4 pages)

Applicants should provide an intellectual justification for their projects, conveying the ideas, objectives, methods, and significance of the work. The narrative should run no longer than four, double-spaced pages (1- inch margins and 12 point font, Times New Roman preferred). Applications should address the following areas:

  • Project description/purpose of the study
  • Significance and scholarly contribution
  • Sources and methods: describe briefly key sources and archives to be used; if novel research methods are employed, those should be explained here
  • Status of project/timeline for completion: summarize briefly what you have done thus far, and state when you expect to complete the project

Proposals must be received electronically or postmarked by June 10, 2024. Notification of awards will be made by August 1, 2024.

Applications should be submitted electronically to andrew.klumpp@iowa.gov.

Evaluation of Proposals

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Significance and originality (or fresh treatment) of the topic and argument
  • Awareness of appropriate range of primary and secondary sources and their applicability to the proposed  argument
  • Quality of writing and organization 

Eligibility

Applications are welcomed from U.S. and international applicants. International applicants must possess either a valid Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Payment

In September 2025, each awardee will receive an initial payment of $1,000. The final payment of $500 will be sent prior to the Spring 2025 fellows workshop.

Acknowledgment

The awardee will acknowledge the State Historical Society of Iowa in any publication resulting in whole or in part from the supported research.